AT&T announces thousands of layoffs, firings just in time for Christmas

It's a not so merry Christmas for many working for AT&T. What a terrible way to start the 2018 new year:

AT&T will begin to layoff and fire more than a thousand workers starting early next year, according to local reports.

Across the Midwest, an estimated 600 workers were notified they were being laid off by the company on December 16, a week before AT&T announced it was doling out $1,000 bonuses to 200,000 of its employees in celebration of the Republican Party's tax overhaul.

The telecommunications giant told the Chicago Tribune in a statement that the most of the affected workers are from its landline and other legacy service sectors, but the company did not say how many workers total would still be employed in 2018.

www.newsweek.com...

Looks like those major Corporate tax cuts aren't doing much of anything. At least they're giving their employees $1000 bonuses.... that may keep some a float a while longer... I guess.

Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, said in a statement that the GOP's tax bill would improve the country's economy and the company's financial prospects.

“Congress, working closely with the President, took a monumental step to bring taxes paid by U.S. businesses in line with the rest of the industrialized world. This tax reform will drive economic growth and create good-paying jobs,” AT&T chief executive Randall Stephenson said, according to CNBC.

Funny that. I wonder if these revelations have been conveniently let out around Christmas in the hopes people wouldn't pay so much attention?

Left out an important piece:

The announcement came days after the New York Post reported that the company "pink-slipped more than 700 DirecTV home installers."

On Friday, the Post also reported that AT&T has recently laid off "215 high-skilled technician jobs in nine Southern states" and plans to fire nearly 700 workers in Texas and Missouri beginning in February.

www.newsweek.com...

a reply to: Southern Guardian

I don't like Direct TV, and obviously there are many others. My contract is up with them in January, and they are out.
I am not going to replace it with Comcast or Verizon. I can get what I want with Amazon, Netflix and a good HD Antenna, as many have figured out already.

Commercials really did TV in for me, as there were more commercial minutes in most shows and documentaries than content. Even recording them and skipping through the commercials were not options in a lot of DTV content, as they would not even let you fast forward some of it. Good riddance.

It seems that the corporations use their new tax profits to pay blackmail money to the workers(to maybe prevent riots) they get rid off now, because of unavoidable industry4.0! To give tax gifts to corporations and tell the people it´s to create jobs, while industry4.0 is killing billions of jobs in the next ten years, worldwide, is almost as silly as the people that believe in that diversionary tactic of the oligarchs.

Oh yeah, it´s trickling down, like:

"Here you have 1000 Dollars, now shut up and leave, you poor f*cker!"

And the defenders of that tax plan celebrate the 1000 Dollars as a wonderful gift from their great leader...
Idiocracy rules!

Bummer.

Sucks to be them.

a reply to: Southern Guardian

It sounds like the layoffs are from sectors that nobody uses much anymore. I can tell you the only people I know with landlines are senior citizens. And direct tv is dying out too.

Is ATT supposed to just keep people working for a sector that is dying just to keep them working?

It's just like any profession someone can pick....tech changes and so does the job market with it.

I feel bad for them but this has nothing to do with any politics or tax cuts....it's simply as stated in your article....legacy service sectors.

I guess the only way to shut people up is to just keep paying people to do unnecessary work. Heaven forbid a company contract labor when its not needed.

Landline employees....what did they expect?

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
I guess the only way to shut people up is to just keep paying people to do unnecessary work. Heaven forbid a company contract labor when its not needed.

Landline employees....what did they expect?

That is what I was thinking......................landline. I do feel for them though.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
I guess the only way to shut people up is to just keep paying people to do unnecessary work. Heaven forbid a company contract labor when its not needed.

Landline employees....what did they expect?

What did the employees that help maintain the infrastructure that the majority of the population still uses expect?

Probably to still have a job considering that monster of a company (That no one likes) that makes 45 billion a year, and just got a tax break from 35 to 21%, was just offering $1,000.00 to its workforce.

You people posting have zero clue just how business actually works it seems. Got news for you, they don't give a F about you. They are in it for themselves/the shareholders. The COMPLETE OPPOSITE of how it's supposed to work.

originally posted by: Vasa Croe
a reply to: Southern Guardian

It sounds like the layoffs are from sectors that nobody uses much anymore. I can tell you the only people I know with landlines are senior citizens. And direct tv is dying out too.

Is ATT supposed to just keep people working for a sector that is dying just to keep them working?

It's just like any profession someone can pick....tech changes and so does the job market with it.

I feel bad for them but this has nothing to do with any politics or tax cuts....it's simply as stated in your article....legacy service sectors.

lmao WHAT?

Do you even know how many people still use DSL? Cable? What do you think all the wireless tech they are rolling out will buttress against for support?

Holy Jeebus the ignorance!

After past experiences with AT&T and the Direct TV bundling I can see why some installers are being let go. Just read their reviews. I don't think this has anything to do with tax cuts or the holidays.
I think it's more, unethical practices, poor management, bad training, and frankly KARMA.

a reply to: SR1TX

Landlines are also land based telephone. A significantly shrinking sector. DSL cant handle 4K streaming. Again...a dying sector.

I dont care for ATT, so you can quit with the ad homs. Im also the financial head of my company.

If you think business should care about anything other than the laws and their shareholders then you are clueless about fiduciary responsibility

This is truly twisting the reason generation. Landlines are important. Many people still have them. This is obviously at$t being a little cheap for money. Im sure once they roll out centient like robots my job is over. And the next generation wont realize theyre being screwed over.

And after all that back-slapping in the thread about the obvious corporate propaganda piece?
Shame.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
I guess the only way to shut people up is to just keep paying people to do unnecessary work. Heaven forbid a company contract labor when its not needed.

Landline employees....what did they expect?

That's the leftists utopia.

Everyone gets paid for just being there. No need to have marketable skills.

I'm sure the OP will set up a crowdfunding project for these folks and then donate what money they have so they can all be equal.

*Meh*

The first time I was laid off by ATT was in 2002. I had relatively low seniority and ISDN was slowing down and BMP Automation allowed for a smaller workforce in provisioning.

They brought me back about a year later for a few months and then laid me off again. I'll say one thing about Ma Bell: she always gave several months warning.

Probably like our company they gave retirement packages to high seniority to help clear them out. generally a years pay and 18 months of insurance if you have 85 points. Age + Seniority = 85 or more. Offered to 500 only 300 agreed and they will be cut anyway without the package.

OH and a $50,000 retirement bonus that one guy was pissed about because they are going to take taxes out of it. REALLY PEOPLE THEY DON'T WANT YOU. YA BETYTER TAKE THE OFFER!!! A guy who has been on sick leave every summer for the last 4 years.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So what’s the plan for this technology progress?

Give the rich more and pay for it except for a little ole trillion
More wars and weapons to fund
Cut funds to education
Cut funds to Food
Cut welfare and Medicaid down to paraplegics only
Threaten and defund insurance to our children
Destroy our only health care system
Force poor women to give birth
Privatize (give the rich more control) social security, Medicare


Thanks for MAGA just so we can say Merry Christmas again. That is so stupid.

Give the gift that keeps on giving.

a reply to: Southern Guardian

Don't be mad at the company, be mad at the people living in the areas of the layoffs. It is directly their fault. If they would keep buying the service the jobs wouldn't be going away.